


the day is too long

by heelsandarrows



Series: hell or highwater [14]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Beach City Drift, F/M, Gem Hunt, Nightmare Hospital, Stevens Birthday
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-26
Updated: 2016-11-18
Packaged: 2018-04-28 07:37:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5083363
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heelsandarrows/pseuds/heelsandarrows
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>follows the current canon timeline. it fills in the missing gaps of connies life and events that happen directly before or after an episode with her airs currently beginning with nightmare hospital aftermath</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The fact a fic like this hasn't been written yet surprises me. The fact I decided to write a fic like this doesn't surprise me.

It wasn't like she could just bury what had happened tonight and forget all about it. Something like this was too shocking to cover up and forget about. It wasn't something she could keep to herself either. She needed to tell her husband. How would be a different story 

The moment she saw her patients earlier that day, she knew something was up. She didn't comment or say anything. It wasn't her place, it was her place to help them. No matter how many arms the one had. It was her job to treat anyone who needed help, and that's what she was going to do.

Her mind flashed back to seeing one of them for the first time, there was no way she'd be able forget that image. It was seared in her mind forever. It had been moving, making sound, yet no pulse or heartbeat. It was the strangest case she'd ever seen. 

All she wanted was to be a good mother and protect her daughter. Keeping her safe from sharp objects seemed like an easy enough thing to do. Yet it wasn't. She was out swinging a sword without her knowledge. 

She didn't want to control every single aspect of Connie's life, she just wanted her safe, have her build good skills for later in life. Yet now her eyes had been open to her faults. It'd been 2 hours since she'd gotten back from the hospital, Connie was in bed.

Priyanka waited up for her husband to come home, and went through all of the information she'd learned. She thought back to the first dinner. Knowing what she knew now made the terror of Alexandrite helped to disappear. 

She dunked her hands into the warm soapy water and scrubbed at the plate. Washing dishes was just calming, she couldn't explain it, but it was. Then she heard the front door open, her husband came in.

Doug wasn’t planning on coming home late, it had just happened. Walking home, he found his wife in the kitchen, washing dishes. He’d known her long enough to know that something was wrong. “Hey,” he said making his presence known and slowly started towards her. “Everything okay?”

The doctor looked over at him and gave a small smile. "You're home! How was work?" She just wanted to stall for time.

“Work was fine, but you’re upset about something, aren't you?"

"I-I'm not upset over anything," Doug raised an eyebrow. "I just have a lot on my mind right now," she recovered knowing he wasn't believing her. 

"Okay... Like what?" He leaned against the counter slightly. 

"Are we too controlling?"

"Controlling? Why would you say that?"

Priyanka shifted uncomfortably and looked away. "I-I just, Connie feels the need to go behind our back and not tell us things. 

A sense of alarm sprung up in him, "What do you mean not tell us things?" 

"I just feel like we've been too protective, It's just made her not trust us and hide things from us. Did you know Connie's been taking sword fighting lessons?"

Doug knitted his eyebrows together, "What? No…” That had to be some kind of joke. He knew his daughter. At least the thought he did.

“She learns when she goes to hang out with Steven-”

At Steven's name, Doug clenched his fists, "I knew there was something with him. Connie's never going to-"

"Durja," she reached out and grabbed his hand, shaking her head. "Don't you see, that's exactly what she feared. Why she felt the need not to tell us. Steven's friendship is important to her, we can't take that away from her."

"Pri, I understand that but if she's hanging out with Steven, he's the one who's been influencing her that it's okay to sword fight, she'll get hurt. It's not safe-"

"Stop. I-I know, there's a lot of things wrong with this, but it's important that she has this. Steven and his family, they're not like us. At that dinner, when we first met them, we learned the basics. Learned what Gems are and the - uh- fusion slightly. Connie has been dealing with that stuff since she first met Steven."

"That's exactly why she shouldn't-"

"I trust Steven. I trust him to look after Connie." After the hospital and the words that spilled out of Steven's mouth, she had to. "He'll protect her. Steven's half Gem. He has a shield and uses it well. When paired up with Connie they're like an unstoppable force. Connie tells me that Pearl has been teaching her, that Pearl has been doing it for thousands of years. She's being trained safely."

Doug shook his head, "Okay, fine, just... How do you know all this?"

"Those two saved my life today. I came home, and- I found this sword. Naturally, I confiscated it then had to go back to the hospital. Steven and Connie followed trying to get it back. The patients I had today were weird. 4 arms, multi-colored. I was going to treat them anyway. But Connie and Steven showed up, and tried to take the sword. They weren't patients, they were Gem monsters. Connie and Steven fought together to stop them, they saved me."

“Why didn’t you start off that way? You’re not hurt are you? Is Connie?”

“No- I’m fine, we’re fine. But that’s the point, that we’re fine, because she knows what she’s doing.”

“Alright… So you think this is something we should support?”

“Yes, as much as we can. I don’t want to have her keep secrets from me- from us. That’s more frightening to me. This way we can keep on eye on her too, know she’s safe. She’s really good, Durja... I’m proud of her.”

“Alright, then we’ll support her. I’m still not the fond of the idea, but I trust you, I trust her.” He wrapped his arms around her in a hug. 

She sighed and leaned into him closing her eyes, “I feel like she’s growing up so fast. That I’m losing her.” 

Doug kissed her temple, “She’s always going to be with us, she’ll be in our hearts, even when she’s not here.”

Priyanka laughed softly, and buried her face in the crook of his neck. “Again with the cheese.” 

“Ahh, I couldn’t resist... “ He smiled at her. “But seriously, she’s always going to need you in her life, you’re her mother.”

“I know, but… I’m afraid, that with all the rules there’s already been, she’s going to want to get out as fast as possible, never glance back. In the end, she’d be able to get on fine without me. I mean, you’re wonderful, and you never need your mother.”

“Priyanka, stop. By the time I stopped all contact with my family, I didn’t need them, I had you. You were what mattered to me. They were suffocating, and in the end, it was their final word that I don’t go back. You’re a good mother. My family didn’t accept anything I did and here you are, embracing this sword fighting thing as best you can. Connie will always need you in her life. Trust me.”

She sighed, and looked back up at her husband, “You’re right… It’s just… It’s been a long day. “

“Then let’s get to bed,” He gave her a kiss. “Unless there’s more you wanted to tell me?”

The doctor thought for a moment, she felt like she was forgetting something. She glanced back up at Doug about to tell him that she couldn’t remember, then she saw his glasses and remembered. “Oh! Connie doesn’t need her glasses anymore.”

“What? How does that happen?”

“Connie told me Steven healed them. That he has healing, spit?” She said with slight uncertainty trying to remember if that was the case. It was a strange thing to happen, but that meant that they wouldn’t have to get new glasses for Connie anymore.

“Healing spit? What did he spit in her eyes or something?”

She laughed slightly and shook her head, “I’m sure that didn’t happen. I’m sure she just go some of his saliva in her system,” she gave a shrug. 

There was a moment of silence as Doug thought about it. It made enough sense, but how did it get into her- it was almost instantly that the couple looked at each other then, coming to the same conclusion on how Connie go Steven’s spit. 

He moved in a flash heading up the stairs with his wife following behind. He didn’t care it was 11:30 and Connie was probably asleep by now. “Kahaani?” He called up as he ascended the stairs. Sword fighting lessons he could get used to and accept. But kissing boys? Not a chance.


	2. Chapter 2

Connie picked at the food on her plate, trying to avoid eating the brussel sprouts as much as she could. She’d gone over how to bring staying at Steven’s for the weekend up. “So, what’re the plans for the weekend?” She asked casually. 

Priyanka raised an eyebrow and looked over at her daughter. “Nothing yet, why?”

She put her fork down and shrugged, “Oh, nothing really… But it’s Steven’s birthday this week. He’s asked me to hang out with him.”

“Oh, I see. Well that shouldn't be a problem. I don't work this weekend I can drive you to Beach City, for his birthday party and be able to pick you up when it’s over. How old is Steven turning exactly?”

“Uh 13 probably,” only then did it strike her that she didn't know Steven’s real age. She figured he couldn’t be much older than her. “Well see that's the thing, mom. He’s not really having a birthday party. You see, the gems and him are working on this project out at the barn that Greg owns. So his dad and the gems were just going to celebrate there. Mr. Universe said he could drive me.”

“Oh, I see. Well… I suppose that’s alright, I’d just need you to call me when you get there and what the address is. If you’re at home by 8 I don't see a problem.”

Connie shifted in her seat uncomfortably, “Well, Ammi, you see that’s the thing he’s invited me for the weekend.”

“The weekend?” She repeated raising an eyebrow, “I don’t think so. You’re not going to spend the weekend with some boy at a farm away from here.”

Connie couldn’t help but pout at what her mother said, she knew however that there was no going back on what she said. “May I still spend the day with him?”

“The day is fine… You can spend the day.” 

“Yes, Ma’am.” Connie said nodding.

Doug noted Connie’s silence, it was a tell with her, being silent. He knew she was upset about not being able to spend the weekend. When it came to it, Connie was his biggest weakness. He had a hard time saying no to whatever it was she wanted. He knew from his own personally experience what it was like to be told ‘no’ all the time. There were times when he knew that he could be too much, but this time was different. This time it was just spending the night at a friend’s house. He didn’t want to take that from her.

By the time dinner was done, Connie had left to go upstairs and read, and he cleaned the dishes with his wife. “You know, I think we should let Connie spend the weekend with Steven for his birthday,” he commented casually.

She scoffed, “I’m not going to let Connie spend the weekend with some boy without super-”

“Priyanka, they’re 12. What do you think is going to happen? Besides, they won’t be without supervision, Connie already said Greg would be there, and the gems would be to. What is so bad about that?”

“Well… I-I don’t know. What if, what if she gets hurt? It’s a barn, there’s bound to be sharp tools, that she can get herself hurt on, or splinters from old wood.”

He couldn’t help but roll his eyes. “She could easily get splinters anywhere, and I’m sure she’s smart enough not to hang around sharp tools. If she gets hurt, there will still be people to help her. I know you feel like you’re the one who needs to always be there for if she gets hurt or something, but you have to start trusting other people. Besides, it’s not like we’d just send her out with nothing, we have like 10 emergency first aid kits, we can send her off with one. We can give her a defibrillator if it makes you feel better,” he joked.

She was quiet for a moment thinking everything over. “Well, she does know how to use it, it would probably be best if she did take it with her.” Then she shook her head, “I-I don’t know. I still don’t like the idea of sending her away for the weekend.”

He took a pot she just finished washing and dried it off, “Well… if she visited Steven, we’d have the weekend to ourselves then.”

“Oh? Is this the real reason you want to get Connie out of the house?” She teased.

“I'm just saying, without Connie, we wouldn't need to use the dinner table… We could finally break out that puzzle that we bought awhile ago…”

Priyanka smiled, “Ah of course… The puzzle.” 

“Or we could go out and watch a movie, go to dinner, there’s a lot of things that could happen, after all, señorita, bade bade deshone mein, aaisi choti choti baatein, hota rehti hai.”

She shook her head smiling, “Alright… Alright, I get it. Connie can go to Steven’s for his birthday. Your crusade is done, go tell your daughter. You spoil her too much.”

He shrugged, “What can I do? I want the world for her.” With that he headed upstairs. Doug knocked on the door to Connie’s room and poked his head in. She was just sitting on her bed reading, just like she said she would. “Your mother wanted me to tell you, that you can spend the weekend at Steven’s for his birthday.”

Connie smiled, “Thank you, baba.” She wasn’t sure what her father said to make her change her mind, but she was grateful. It reminded her of the myths of Persephone and Hades in a way. They always said that with his wife by his side, Hades was much calmer, or that Persephone would help him to think rationally. It was much like her parents. Dealing with her mother alone could be unpredictable sometimes, but with her dad there, he was good at balancing her out, making her think rationally. 

Ever since that night at the hospital things had gotten better too. Her mother listened to her more, was much more relaxed. Things were changing, and she liked changed.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> god. Ok I can't believe I saw the ep and then cranked out a chapter literally hours after it airs. But like even so there are basically no spoilers for beach city drift tbh. Anyway I've missed Connie so much I'm so glad she was back I was so upset that they didn't say why Connie was wearing her fathers jacket so I fucking wrote it why. Also i wrote this at 12am and now it's 2 and I have work in the morning pls yell at my for my bad life choices.

“Hey mom? Do you think I could hang out with Steven today? It's a weekend and he only got back into to town a few days ago and I haven't seen him since his birthday! I just thought that-”

“Sure,” she was interrupted by her mother. “What time do you want to be dropped off?”

Connie smiled brightly then shrugged, “Oh uh- I dunno. Maybe like 1? It's almost 11 now, it'll be enough time that I can do some homework, and eat lunch so I’m not hungry when I’m there.”

“1 sounds like a fine idea. You’d have to figure out with your father what time he is able to pick you up. I wouldn't be able to make it to beach city and back then to the hospital for tonight unless you were picked up at around 8 by me. So that's entirely up to him.”

“You're working tonight too?” Connie asked defeated. “I already asked baba but he said to ask you because he had to work tonight and didn't know what you had planned for the night.”

Priyanka wanted to curse. She checked the wall calendars, and sure enough she was right. She and her husband worked almost the exact same hours.

It was times like this where she was sure having one big calendar to put everyone’s plans on would be better so you could see what overlapped, but they each were so busy and she liked to keep a tight schedule of everything it was just easier for everyone to have their own calendar. 

Priyanka and her husband often exchanged their possible work schedules in hopes to avoid things like this. Before Connie was born, their hours being able to be any time of the day was no problem and they could be out of the house at the same time. Now it was hard. She felt like someone had to be home with Connie all the time. 

In cases like these Priyanka often choose to hire a sitter until midnight to make sure Connie gets into bed and follows rules, but since last year Connie proved herself to be more responsible and trustful to not need a sitter at all. “Well, I suppose you can still hang out with Steven but, one of us will have to come pick you up at eight, maybe earlier.”

Connie sighed. Eight was a long time to be out, but sometimes it seemed like most of the magical stuff didn't start until late into the night. “Do you think I could stay until nine if Mr. Universe could drive me home?” She asked hopefully. 

Priyanka thought for a moment. “I suppose so, but you don't want to impose on him now, I don't want him to feel obligated to watch you like that and to take care of you.”

“It doesn't hurt to ask! Besides I can just take the bus if he can't, I've done it loads of times going from Beach City to here!”

“Yes but not as late as nine, Connie. I still don't know about it…”

“Please,” she begged. “Just call him and explain it. He’s not going to mind.”

Priyanka pursed her lips and stared down at her daughter for a moment. She really didn't feel comfortable picking up the phone and calling Greg, asking him to drive her daughter around. She just didn't want to make things a hassle. But in the end she picked up the phone. 

The conversation went on longer than she expected with Greg in all honesty. She was surprised to hear that he had gained a large sum of wealth and wondered if he could finally afford a haircut. She then quickly explained her situation and was pleased to hear he was more than willing to help out. 

“It was nice talking to you too, Greg, thank you again.” Priyanka hung up the phone and turned to Connie, “Well you have until 9 tonight. But no later. Greg will take you home at that time and please thank him. And go to sleep at a decent hour.”

Connie smiled. “Thank you, Ammi!” She said and jumped out of the chair. “And don’t worry ma’am, home by 9 and sleeping by 10 it is.”

Priyanka smiled, “Alright, now you go work back on homework and I’ll fix you some lunch.”

1pm rolled around soon enough and Connie was ready to go. She sat at the kitchen table, waiting for her mother to come down the stairs and take her to beach city. Instead it was her father who came down the stairs, nearly tripping too, but she wasn't going to laugh and embarrass him. “You ready to go?” He asked.

“I thought mom was taking me?”

Doug shook his head, “She’s napping. Sorry to disappoint.”

“Not a disappointment,” she said truthfully. “I always like spending time with you.” Connie followed her father out the the garage and to his old car that he loved so much. She got into the back while her father grabbed a water bottle to go. 

Doug got into the car, buckled up, then looked through is rearview mirror. “You know, you don't need to sit in the back if you don't want to.”

Connie’s face lit up, “Really?” She'd never been offered or allowed to sit up front while her parents were driving. They both thought she was too young. But today was her lucky day. She scampered out of the car and into the passenger seat.

“Well, are you ready co-pilot?” 

“Yessir!”

The drive there was mostly quiet. It don't bother Connie too much. She just like looking out the front window fully finally. It was a short ride into Beach City. That's when her father spoke again. “Connie, would you open the block of weather on my phone,” he said and pointed to the smartphone in the farthest cup holder. 

“It's an app, dad,” she teased picking up the phone. She wanted a smartphone, much like Steven had, she knew how to use it better than her parents that was for sure. But she also knew to be grateful that she even had a phone. She slid the phone open but was blocked by a passcode. “I don't know your password.”

“It's zero, six, zero, eight,” he informed her. 

Connie rolled her eyes at the date and quickly opened what he was looking for. She read off the highs and lows for the day just as he pulled into ’It's a wash.’ “Thank you for driving me, dad,” she said as she got out of the car. She was expecting him to say goodbye and head off so she was pretty surprised when he stepped out of the car. 

“Connie,” he called to her. It took no time for her to appear right at her father's feet for whatever he had to say. “Take this,” he said and took off his jacket. “The temps have been much colder in average this week and it's supposed to drop down too later in the night so I don't want you to get cold.”

Connie started down at the leather jacket that was just handed to her and shook her head, “No thanks. I won't need it.”

“You never know, Kahaani, besides if you get a cold I’ll never hear the end of it from your mother about how I let you go out without a jacket.”

She laughed softly. “Alright then. I’ll take it. Just for your safety from mom though.”

“Whatever the reason works for me.”

Connie stared down at the jacket again and then decided on putting it on. She did think she was going to, but she wanted to. 

“It looks good,” Doug said with a wide smile. “I just might have to let you keep it. Anyway, I gotta get going. Please stay safe, don't do anything crazy now, and remember, at home by nine.” He gave her a kiss on the head the got into the car. “I love you.”

“Love you too,” she said softly as he began to take off. Connie buried her hands in his jacket and walked over to where Mr. Universe was. It was weird to Connie the most she thought of it, that she was wearing his jacket. She wasn't sure of the origin of it, she thought she heard her mom say it was in a second hand store, but he still loved it. It was one of his prized possessions. She wasn't quite sure why he liked the jacket so much, but it did make her feel warm inside that something he liked so much he would entrust with her. 

She inhaled, picking up the scent of him. The leather, slight coffee smell, and his deodorant were all prevalent. There was an odd comfort in it. She knew her parents were just working, this situation happened before too. Last time when her parents worked all night she went out with Steven all night and fought Lapis to try and get the ocean back. Even though they didn't mean to leave her alone again, it was nice to have something that made her feel like her father was there with her that night. 

Whatever happened that night it was going to be no big deal, her father would be right by her side for it.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yikes I need to sleep but I did this instead ur welcome. 
> 
> also, I know in a later episode Steven revealed that Connie was back to school shopping and that's why she couldn't hang but frankly I'm disregarding that piece of information entirely and saying she's been in school for awhile now and that's why she was absent from so many episodes, because she was starting school.

A reminder popped up on to her phone just as she got into the car. She gave a slight smile then shook her head. The reminder was nice, but she hadn't needed it. Priyanka remembered that she had to pick her daughter up from Steven's that day. 

The drive from the hospital to the beach wasn't too bad, the only thing she hated about being the one to pick Connie up, was having to walk through the sand to get to the house. As she ascended the stairs she could see into the small house slightly, and it didn't seem like anyone was there. It was odd to her, normally Connie was just sitting around waiting for her. There wasn't anyone on the beach either, where she assumed Connie trained, it was mostly empty. 

Hesitantly she knocked on the screen door and called out. There had been no answer. She waited a few more moments before she took her phone out to call her daughter. Before she could finish dialing, there was a bright light, and Connie, Steven, and Pearl all appeared at once. She was startled but tried not to show it. The deal was she was going to be more open minded about things, she was just going to accept it and move on.

"Mom!" Connie exclaimed as she laid eyes on her.

Steven seemed to notice her too and he rushed to the door and opened it for her. "Sorry, Dr. Maheswaran."

Priyanka stepped in the house, the door shutting behind her "That's alright, Steven-"

"You weren't waiting for me a long time were you?" Connie accidentally interrupted. 

"No, I just got here," she smiled reassuringly. "How was training today?"

"She did very well, as always," Pearl answered smiling brightly. "She's a very fast learner. I would even say that she's ready for the next step."

Connie raised an eyebrow curiously, "Next step?" 

"Yes. I believe she's ready for her first real mission."

"Really!?"

"Yes, you can accompany Steven and I tomorrow on a mission. It would be the perfect starting point for you."

"Connie! That would be awesome! Your first mission!!" Steven wrapped his arms excitedly around her in a hug. 

Priyanka cleared her throat, letting her presence be known again, Steven let go of Connie immediately. "I'm sorry, but what exactly do you mean by mission?"

Pearl turned to make eye contact with the doctor, "Well, all over the earth there are corrupted gems, they can be a danger to the rest of humankind, so our goal is to poof them and bubble them so they can't harm anyone."

"Like what happened at the hospital!" Connie spoke up. 

"Oh yes! Connie and Steven did fill me in on the events of that day, and the goal would be to do exactly what Connie did to those gem monsters then. I believe Connie is ready to go out into the real world once again. She would be an asset to us and we could finish the job quicker." Pearl looked over at her pupil, "I believe it's the perfect starting point. Providing your mother says it's okay, however."

The attention fell to her again, Connie had stars in her eyes, "Please mom?"

"I-I don't know." Priyanka answered truthfully. "Maybe? I'll have to talk with your father on this, but we'll see."

A maybe sounded good to Connie. It was better than a no. 

The car ride home was mostly quiet. Connie stared out the window wondering what kind of mission Pearl wanted to take her on. It was a special feeling, being asked to go on a mission. It made her feel important. 

When they got home Connie found her father already there and making dinner. “Connie!” He smiled as she came in, “Home just in time to set the table. How was practice?”

“It was good,” she started, pulling out the silverware. She looked over at her mother, hoping to see if she would help bring up the subject of her going on her first mission. Her facial expression made it clear she had to do this by herself. She took a deep breath. Connie wasn’t sure why she felt scared to ask him. It was just her dad. Her mom was the one she found herself being afraid of more. “Pearl even suggested that I might be ready for my first real mission soon.”

“Really?” Doug looked over, his eyes landing on his wife, placing the plates down. He waited for her to make eye contact before speaking again. He hoped to have been able to get some hint from her on how to react to the news, but she wasn’t providing any. “Connie, that’s… that’s really something, huh?” he said trying to remain as neutral as possible. However being neutral seemed to be the wrong answer. Priyanka rolled her eyes and shook her head, breaking eye contact.

“So,” Connie spoke up again, speaking slowly. “There’s a mission tomorrow that Pearl wants me to be apart of… Can I go?”

Doug continued looking in his wife’s direction, desperate for an answer. “I-I don’t know…?”

“You don’t know?” Connie repeated.

“Well, whatever your mother says-”

“Durja, I’ve left the decision up to you.”

“What? Why?”

“Because you need to make these types of decisions.”

There was a brief silence before Connie spoke up again, “So can I go tomorrow?”

He sat in silence for a moment, weighing the pros and cons. “Sure. I am okay with it. As long as your mother also agrees. But I also want to know more about the mission before you go, like what it’s going to be about and such.”

Connie smiled brightly, “We can call Pearl tonight and ask her!” She felt it hard to contain how excited she was. 

Doug nodded, “Well you can do your homework, and me and your mother will contact Pearl. Because the only way I’m allowing you to go is if your homework is done for the weekend.”

“Of course!” Connie nodded and smiled again. “Thank you so much dad!”

After dinner, Connie quickly scampered upstairs to get her homework done leaving her parents alone to call Pearl.

Priyanka stared at the phone, “The gems don't have phones do they?”

“Oh. I suppose not,” Doug agreed. “I hadn't even thought of that.” The doctor pursed her lips slightly then picked up the phone and started dialing. “Who’re you calling?” She pressed a finger to her lips.

The other line picked up not too long after, “Connie?” An excited voice asked. “Did your parents say yes?”

“Sorry Steven, not Connie.”

“Oh! I’m sorry Dr. Maheswaran, is there something I can do for you?”

“Actually yes, I was wondering if I could speak to Pearl? I would’ve directly called her but I figured that the gems might not have cell phones and if they did, we didn't have their numbers.”

Steven laughed, “Yeah, they don’t have phones. Peridot has a tablet, but that's not too much help in that kind of situation. Maybe I could get my dad to get them all one!” He was starting to sidetrack. “But, yeah! I can get Pearl for you, one minute.”

She could hear Steven moving around a lot on the other side, and him shouting for the gem. He seemed to find success four minutes into a search. “Steven, what am I supposed to do with this?” She heard Pearl’s voice now.

“You just hold it up to your ear and you talk!”

“I know how to use it, Steven, but why did you give it to me?”

“It’s Connie’s mom! I need you talk to her!”

“Why?”

“Because she probably has questions about the mission and needs to know the answers so she can let Connie go on her first mission!”

Priyanka felt like she could hear an eye roll. “Hello?” Pearl’s voice came in very hesitantly, but clear now. 

“Pearl, this is Dr. Maheswaran.”

“Yes, that is correct.”

“Well, I was just wondering if you could answer a few questions I had about the, uh, mission for tomorrow.”

“Okay…?”

Priyanka sighed slightly. In general, Pearl didn’t always seem the most comfortable talking with humans it seemed like. In person she was doing alright, but phone conversations seemed like much newer territory for her. “Well, just some simple things really. Where will you being going, what you're hoping to accomplish, how long it should take, things like that?”

“Oh. Well, Garnet sensed corrupted gem activity in The Great North, and it's just the simple task of finding it, destabilizing it's form, and then to bubble it. No big deal really. Should only take a few hours up to a day.”

“I see… And Connie will be safe?”

Pearl laughed, “Well, she is my pupil after all, so her combat skills are excellent, I’m sure she'll be able to hold up against a corrupted gem. Not mention I will be with her at all times, and so will Steven who posses his mother’s shield that will protect the both of them from any harm!”

“Well, alright then, as long as she can be home by the end of the day. I don't see any problem with her going then.”

“Oh, excellent! Steven can swing by at 10 tomorrow to pick Connie up.”

Before Priyanka could open her mouth, Pearl had disconnected the call. “What happened?” 

Priyanka gave a slight shrug and put the phone back on the hook, “She just, hung up.” The doctor crossed her arms, letting out a sigh. “She said they were going to The Great North to fight some monster. How they're getting there I don't really know, and I'm not sure if I really want to find out how.”

“The Great North! Priyanka, it's gotta be cold and snowing there, we can't just send off Connie to the cold!”

“You think I don't understand that? It's not like we're going to just drop her off and say have fun fighting, try not to die? She’s going to be dressed properly and she’ll have stuff with her, we just have to get that all together for her tonight.” 

“Right, of course. So like, camping stuff then?”

“Mhmm,” she nodded. “Somewhere in the garage there should be a hiking backpack, and while you're out there, grab Connie’s snow stuff.” 

An hour later, the living room floor could no longer be seen clearly. Different supplies and items lay across, ready to be packed up. Priyanka entered the room carrying a few plastic dishes and silverware. “I think this should be fine?”

He glanced up slightly, and nodded giving his approval before looking back at the supplies. There was a beat and his head shot up again, “Wait Priyanka, those are the nice mugs.”

The doctor knitted her eyebrows together, “These?” She held out two mugs with frogs painted on them. “These are not the nice mugs, Doug.” 

“Ok well, I think that's a matter of opinion-”

“You bought these at an estate sale six years ago. The family was getting rid of their recently deceased mother’s things.”

There was footsteps coming down the stairs interrupting them. “Well I finished my work.” Their daughter was about to say more until seeing the mess the living room was looking like. “What’s going on?”

“Well, we’re just, trying to get you packed and well supplied.”

Connie couldn’t help but smile. Of course they were. They always wanted to cover every single base when it came to her safety. She felt so warmed by the idea still they were letting her go, they’d come so far from freaking out over her going to Beach City by herself. “I see. Do you need help?”

The two exchanged looks and Doug shrugged, “I feel like we’ve got it covered, but you know much more about gem stuff than us, so you’re probably the better judge of what’s important.” She nodded understandingly and came to look at everything laid out, she knew she wouldn’t be able to take all of this, she’d get weighed down too fast. 

Over the next hour, Connie sat with her parents, going over everything she thought she was going to need. Priyanka tried not to think too much about why Connie had read a survival book over and over again, and they narrowed everything down. They packed the bag up and laid out Connie’s clothes for tomorrow then sent her up to bed. If she were to go on a mission tomorrow, she’d need as much rest as she could get. 

As soon as her eyes closed, it felt like they were open right away the next morning. Priyanka felt like she hardly slept. Too worried about Connie and what was going to happen and what she was going to do the next day. She set an alarm to get up, but ended up waking well before that. Taking the opportunity, she took a long shower then got to work preparing Connie a healthy breakfast. 

10 o’clock was creeping nearer, her eyes were fixated on it watching it go by as Connie ate her breakfast. The doctor closed her eyes then shifted her attention back to her daughter. She knew it was the wrong way to think, but there was definitely a chance that this could be the last time she saw Connie, she wasn’t going to waste it by staring at the clock. She absent mindedly smiled at her. The fear she had that Connie wasn’t going to make it was small thankfully. Her faith in her was stronger than her fear for her. 

Footsteps on the staircase again as Doug descended down to the kitchen. As he sat down to eat, there was the ringing of the doorbell. It was 10. Steven was here. 

Connie practically flew out of her seat to go get the door and greet her friend. By the time Priyanka reached the doorway, Connie was grabbing all of her stuff and getting ready to go. “Hi Dr. and Mr. Maheswaran,” Steven greeted them with a smile on his face. “Thanks for letting Connie come on the mission with us today!”

“It’s not a problem, she’s very excited to go. It was kind of you to invite her, Steven.”

“Alright! I’m all ready to go now!” Connie announced coming back into the room carrying her backpack. 

“Great! Lion’s here and is ready to go!” With mention of the feline, he suddenly walked in front of the doorway and looked up at the sky.

“Lion?” There was panic in Doug’s voice, and Priyanka could sense his anxiety spike when the pink lion came into view. She silently cursed to herself, for having forgot to tell him about the creature. He seemed to move on from that however as he saw Connie start to step out the door. “Just a minute,” he stopped her. She turned around looking slightly red and embarrassed. He pulled her into a hug and kissed the side of her head. “Stay safe. I love you, Kahaani.”

The teen blushed brightly but smiled, “I love you too, dad.”

“Make sure to take lots of pictures, Connie.” Priyanka smiled at her. “I love you. Stay safe.” The doctor glanced up and looked at Steven, a somewhat melancholy look on his face. “That goes the same for you too, Steven. Stay safe out there.”

The gem blushed slightly at her comment, “Thank you, Dr. Maheswaran.” With one more hug, Connie was out the door and starting to trot away on lion. There was a moment's silence, then Steven spoke up again. “So, Kahaani?”

“Huh?” Connie looked up, her face still red. “Oh. Yeah,” She gave a small smile. “That’s my birth name. It’s just easier for people to say Connie instead.”

“Well I like it,” Steven said with a smile. It was just then that lion roared open a portal and they were gone.

The was a large silence that filled the house as Connie had left. Doug went back to eating breakfast and Priyanka went upstairs to get ready for work. Time went slowly. She was supposed to go in at noon, but it was only 10:40 now. Priyanka headed downstairs and sighed, checking her watch one more time. There were knots in her stomach. She felt anxious about everything, though she knew she shouldn’t. 

She paced the living room floor, trying not to think about Connie. “You okay?” Doug stood in the doorway.

“Huh? Yeah, I’m fine.”

“Are you going to work?”

That’s the plan.”

“You should take the day off. You work hard, you deserve a break. Not to mention, I think it’d be hard for you to focus on things today.” 

There was silence as she thought over the idea. “You know, I think you’re right.” It wasn’t like her to skip work, but in this case, he was probably right. She needed to get her mind off of this. She picked up the phone and called in to the hospital to fake sick and get a day off. Thankfully they let her off the hook. 

The day was mostly quiet. The couple pulled out a puzzle to work on and try and get their minds off of everything. Anxiety was high, but neither of them wanted to talk about it. Each time the phone rang, one would jump up to answer it, only to find that it didn’t have anything to do with Connie. It rang again at 2 o’clock and Doug jumped up to answer it. “You don’t think this time-”

“Just answer it!”

“Hello?”

“Hello. This is Garnet.”

Doug was alarmed, “Garnet? What’s going on? Is Connie okay?” He put the phone on speaker. 

“Yes.” The gem spoke calmly on the other line. “Connie is fine. She is going to be fine. You need to trust her and calm down. Worrying about it will do you no good.” Doug stared over at his wife, opening his mouth to speak. Before he could get anything else out, the gem hung up. 

Silence was broken by a sudden laughter from Priyanka. “She’s right. We can’t just sit here in worry. I mean, Connie is going to be fine, right?” 

“Yeah…” Doug smiled, “You’re right.” He sat down on the couch next to her. “She’s going to be fine.”

The rest of the day went on much better. Like a giant weight had been lifted off their shoulders. The call from Garnet put calm in them and they were able to talk freely about things once again. Priyanka put a movie on in the background as they worked on the puzzle and there wasn’t such tension in the air anymore. It was getting later and later and Connie still wasn’t home, but they didn’t realize how late it was. The time was going by much faster now. 

Then the front door opened and in came Connie. “Connie! How did things go?” Priyanka stood up and smiled brightly. 

“It was incredible! Steven took a lot of pictures and sent them to me,” Connie pulled out her new phone and opened up the photos and handed the phone to her mom. She set her backpack down and sat down in the armchair next to the couch as her parents went through her photos. 

Priyanka felt a swell of pride as she looked through the photos. “Well, tell us all about it!”


End file.
